MAY 4 GENERAL ASSEBMBLY
Moderators: Olya and John Waiblinger.
Stackers: Kandist and Mike.
Time Keeper: [JOHN WAIBLINGER: People are going to time themselves].
Peace Keeper: [JOHN: Everybody's a Peace Keeper].
Note/Minutes Taker: Dennis de la Vega.
INTRODUCTION
7:39 pm, John Waiblinger: Mic! Check! Mic! Check! Mic! Check! We're going to start the GA in about five minutes. So, get ready, prepare yourselves for an awesome GA.
7:44 pm, John Waiblinger: Mic! Check! Can everybody gather for the GA... ...Today is day 217 of the Occupy Los Angeles, so give yourselves a hand [ASSEMBLY APPLAUSES]... ...is there anybody here that needs Spanish translation?... ...Is there anybody here that needs American Sign Language translation... ...if this is your first time here... ...come up and introduce yourselves.
7:46 pm, Tammy: ...I also go by Porsche on the Occupy LA List... ...I used to go by Occupy LA on the West Steps over by the City Hall and unfortunately unable to stop by...
7:47 pm, A Man: ...I had to stop going because of school and hope to get back
7:48 pm, Ross: ...from the Los Angeles Catholic Workers. I used to save beans at the Occupy and I got arrested with y'all
7:49 pm, Peter: ...I'm visiting with my wife and kids... ...I'm working with the... ...resistance robotic network and I also...
7:50 pm, Daniel: ...from Hollywood. I was at the Occupy during the first couple weeks and I hope I can help out.
7:50 pm, John: ...remind everybody that this is an International Movement... ...to thank Dele for the work that he did... ...we didn't invent the Occupy Movement here in the United States... ...humbled whenever I watch... ...of people in the movement that get shot at... ...Josh has been in Egypt for the last five years and he's going to give his experience...
7:53 pm, Josh: ...I've lived in Egypt for the past five years during the uprising... ...and continues... ...the uprising at the Ministry of Defense... ...and at least twenty have died today... ...protesters were planning on marching... ...and defying that curfew... ...molotovs. They debate whether that's okay for sure... ...protest with ?guns?... ...a chant in Arabic... ...used in Tunisia and in other Arabic countries... ...[HE BEGINS TEACHING THESE WORDS TO THE ASSEMBLY] Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam [REPEATS IT ?2? TO ?4? TIMES MORE]… …It means ‘The people demand the downfall of the system…
7:55 pm, Olya: Would anybody like to read the 'Principles of Solidarity'...
7:56 pm, A Man, [VOLUNTEER READS]: We are the ninety-nine percent and we have moved to reclaim our mortgaged future. Through a direct Democratic process we have come together as individuals and crafted these principles of solidarity which are points of unity that include but are not limited to: Engaging in direct and transparent participatory Democracy; Exercising personal and collective responsibility; Recognizing individual's inherent privilege and the influence it has on all interactions; Empowering one another against all forms of oppression; Redefining how labor is valued; The sanctity of individual privacy; The belief that education is a human right; And, [NEW] MAKING TECHNOLOGIES AND CULTURE OPEN TO ALL, TO FREELY ACCESS, CREATE, MODIFY, AND DISTRIBUTE. We are daring to imagine a new socio-political and economic alternative that offers greater possibility of equality. We are consolidating the other proposed principles of solidarity after which demands will follow.
7:59 pm, Barry: Today is the anniversary of one act of violence... ...there was a protest in... ...'VietGahnistan'... ...four students were killed... ...and at another protest [KENT STATE]... ...other students were killed... ...those playing by the same rules... ...also tomorrow's birthday is named Karl Marx; no relation to Graucho or Harpo [LAUGHING]... ...and then in 1959 under the leadership of a General Strike combined with people at arms most notably the Castro Brothers and Che, and they were joined by ?Marxists? and...
8:03 pm, Olya: [DEFINES 'HAND SIGNALS']... ...[JOHN EXPLAINS MORE ABOUT THE 'HARD BLOCK']... ...If you 'Hard Block' you'll need to defend it... ...the 'Hard Block' in its ideal form is designed to make things better...
8:06 pm, John Waiblinger: Next on the agenda is Time Sensitive... ...[OPENS STACKS].
8:07 pm, Brother Adam: ...Occupy Skid Row... ...on May tenth... ...was shot in the back... ...and so far they're going to let these cops off... ...[HANDOUTS]...
8:08 pm, Carlos Maroquin, Occupy Fights Foreclosures: ...it's everything that Occupy is all about... ...we know what happened with ?Germa??Ingrid?... ...here attorneys keep telling... ...and Bank of America keeps telling her they want her out... ...we want... ...and her daughter... ...cerebral palsy... ...Bank of America in Pasadena... ...if you're an Occupier you need to get behind this one... ...at 3 o'clock on Tuesday the bus leaves from here, Pershing Square... ...moveOn.org and other organizations; They don't like this... ...right after those two events ACLU is having a foreclosure forum and Cheryl and I are... ...ask... ...to participate. www.OccupyFightsForeclosures.org and we are also on FaceBook and Twitter.
8:13 pm, Ryan: ...tomorrow's Cinco de Mayo... ...talking to our neighborhood about a possible Block Party... ...tomorrow there will be a Report Back... ...no official announcement unfortunately...
8:14 pm, Michael Novick: ...adult education... ...almost 300,000 students... ...there's another rally outside the Venice High School, tomorrow at 11 am... ...Van Nuys Civic Center rally also...
8:15 pm, Peter: Staying at the Los Angeles Catholic Worker right now... ...Occupy... ...we have pivoted to face the... ...high command at... ...organizing to confront the military One Percent Arm... ...NATO... ...Vandenberg Air Force Base [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base]... ...every... ...command goes right through the base at Vandenberg... ...I'm happy to talk to you... ...TierraLinda@live.com and I also want to send you greetings from the... ...Shiite... ...in... ...that's where my wife is from.
8:19 pm, Dave, Legal Committee: Mic! Check!... ...so obviously we had a pretty cool M1GS... ...Post M1GS... ...specifically Media... ...we treat Media like Cops... ...we've been treated harshly by Media... ...Occupiers arrested during M1GS... ...this is the point... ...we are not going to talk about facts... ...first off you can say a couple things... ...of course you can say "He's in jail."... ...You can say "M1GS was... ...successfully... ..."... ...the cops put up lines, we went around the cops... ...overall, the police were accommodating... ...If you are going to have any Media incidents about this M1GS, please put it through your ?legal defense team?... ...if you've got some... ...particularly ?incriminating? don't [EXPL.] post it!... ...M1GS is not over! Mic! Check! that... ...[ASSEMBLY: M1GS is not over!]... ...long story short, don't squeal. We've got to protect ?ourselves?...
BREAK OUT GROUP DISCUSSIONS
8:26 pm, John Waiblinger: ...remember this is a movement of 'solidarity'... ...in a movement that ... ...to engage in direct participatory democracy and we are open and transparent... ...collective responsibility... ...How do we support them? And, How do we talk about... ...? How do we respond to people who are framing us in a poor light? What does it mean to participate in open and transparent with respect to individual and collective responsibility?... ...Go for it.
8:28 pm: [ASSEMBLY BREAKS OUT INTO GROUPS]...
[INAUDIBLE CONTENT OF ANY ONE PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL BUT THERE ARE MANY DISCUSSIONS THROUGHOUT THE ASSEMBLY AREA (THE STEADY CLATTER OF SEVERAL TO VERY MANY CONVERSATIONS FILLS THE AIR IN PERSHING SQUARE SO FULLY YOU CAN SLEEP TO IT (psst-thisizwutdemocracilookslike)]
8:46 pm: [STACKS OPEN, ASSEMBLY RETURNS].
8:47 pm: [A 'SOLIDARITY CLAP'].
8:47 pm, Alex, 1st Group: ...we were talking about our security culture... ...safety first, safety during and safety last... ...[JOHN CALLS FOR ORDER]... ...this part is very important... ...so, a little thing happened on M1GS. It was caught on camera by a person who has been on Occupy... ...before... ...Tony ?Aschavera?... ...get in front of his camera... ...he's a cop, he's a snitch and he's really been hurting our Occupy Los Angeles.... ...so call that guy out...
8:50 pm, Tony, 2nd Group: ...we should know what we need to do in these situations... ...that was my own insertion here... ...maybe we need some training in our security culture here. May I suggest a ?Teach-In?... ...not throw them to the lions, currently... ...the PIC or Prison Industrial Complex... ...also with security culture, please use passwords on your cellphones... ...it will be harder for the cops to find information on your phone... ...don't use geo or... ...don't tell people what to do who are with us in our actions.
8:53 pm, James: ...try to be discrete... ...message people who have posted stuff... ...lend some perspective where someone looks at their video; they are actually playing with someone's life... ...horrible... ...lend some perspective on the Huffington Post... ...maybe... ...who isn't for their narrative... ...use ?discretion?... ...maybe a code of conduct... ...formal or informal... ...Teach-Ins and that... ...really try to lend perspective; that, people mind end up in jail and jail can be horrible... ...be mindful of that.
PROPOSALS
First (fun) Proposal
8:55 pm, John: ...very quick emergency Proposal...
8:56 pm, Alyssa, M1GS Cake Bearer: [SHOWS THE M1GS CUPCAKE].
8:56 pm, John: Can we get a consensus on that? [CONSENSUS WAS CHEERED].
Second Proposal
8:57 pm, Brother Adam, Ruth, and Kylene: Support... ...Black Rider's Liberation... ...[RUTH: Can we pass the hat for this?...]... ...[KYLENE: Release this statement and publish it widely...]... ...[THEY CONTINUE TO SHARE THE READING OF THIS PROPOSAL]... ...[IT IS ABOUT THE HOUSE OF ?BLACK RIDERS? THAT HAS BEEN RAIDED BY THE POLICE]...
[9:00 PM: JOHN OPENS STACKS TO "NO QUESTIONS ASKED OR CONCERNS IN ANYONE'S MIND", TAKES A TEMPERATURE CHECK AND CONSENSUS WAS REACHED].
9:01 pm: [ONCE AGAIN: CONSENSUS WAS REACHED].
Third Proposal
9:02 pm, Alifah, Steve, and [ALYFFA'S "HOMIE" FROM KPFK]: ...It's for $400 dollars for a press kit and... ...[SHE READS HER PROPOSAL]... ...Occupy people's spirits. We're working for... ...disparity... ...some commercial music [SHE TALKS] That's more income for us... ...basically we need to open up some more ends... ...this is just one video to... ...for $400; and, that's very little for resources for this, for 'green screens' and all... ...What do you think [or] feel? I want feedback... ...say anything you need... ...Yes, Occupy Video... ...[ASKS FOR A DEMO OF THE SONG: (Alifah to sing)... ...(asks for a guitar in the house)... ...an electronic Press Kit is basically a planned Demo... ...online you could piece it together... ...[GUITAR ACCOMPANIMENT BY SHAUN WITH ALIFFA TO PERFORM A DEMONSTRATION EXCERPT OF A PROPOSED PIECE FOR THE VIDEO AND PUT TOGETHER 'ON THE FLY' UNDER THE PRESSURE OF A HECKLING CROWD]... ...[SHE NARRATES]... ...[BEGINS SINGING]... ...we are rhythm now the Occupation...
9:30 pm: [THIS PROPOSAL TERMINATED AS TABLED].
AN EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT
9:31 pm, Richard Eastman: ...tomorrow is the millennium Marijuana March. It's been going on for ?? years now. It was put together by Sister Somayah [KAMBUI], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U8nqXE-ojs]...she ?died? about ??? ... ...so I urge you to come and march for Marijuana... ...remember 11 to 12 am tomorrow at Crenshaw and Adams... ...bring...
FRIDAY'S RECURRENT 'OCCUPY THE HOOD' ANNOUNCEMENT
[ABOUT OCCUPY SKID ROW IN PROTEST OF MASSIVE HARRASSMENT
OF THE DISENFRANCHISED, EXPLOITED, AND FORGOTTEN WHO HAVE
"NOWHERE ELSE TO GO" (QUOTE/UNQUOTE W/EMPHASIS ADDED)]
9:37 pm, Brother Adam: We are going to Occupy Skid Row... ...we have a reason to Occupy Skid Row... ...there are now 30 or 40 new Officers there at Skid Row... ...This is an 'Occupy the Hood Action'... ...Don't talk to the police!... ...there are only three people who talk to the police. Those are Shaun Gregory, Bilal, and myself... ...me, Shaun, Jojo, and Brian... ...Bilal, I don't know if he's going to be there.

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